This photograph shows Nebi Musa, located in the Judaean Desert, on the road from Jerusalem down to the Dead Sea. It was used as a stopping point for Muslims on their way from Jerusalem to Mecca. A hospice was in place for this purpose by the end of the 15th century and it gradually became a traditional site for the burial place of Moses (Arabic: Musa). The site was repaired by the Ottomans. Beginning in the 19th century it became a pilgrimage site as part of the Nebi Musa festival, during which pilgrims would trek from Jerusalem to Nebi Musa for a week of celebration.
Six of the eleven altars that were found during the excavation of Tel Miqne (biblical Ekron) stand in front of the excavation's directors, Trude Dothan and Sy Gitin. They concluded that Ekron had a primarily Philistine population in the 7th century BCE, with some admixture of Israelites. Each altar except the round one at the very bottom of the photo has corner horns, and all but that one were found in an industrial building (the one without horns was found in the city's domestic quarter). Many scholars have suggested that this round, unhorned 'altar' from the domestic quarter might instead have been used for non-religious functions, such as mixing cosmetics or burning incense in homes simply to add a pleasant scent. Such discussions raise important questions about how we identify objects from archaeological excavations, especially religious ones.
The Elephantine Papyri are correspondences of a Jewish military garrison who occupied an island in the Nile River on ancient Egypt's southern border. They had a temple in which the god of Israel was worshiped under the name Yhwh ('Yahu'), and in this letter a man named Hananiah writes to the Elephantine Jews to observe the Passover. Hananiah cites the authority of word sent from Darius himself to Arsames, the satrap of Egypt, that the Jewish festivals were to be celebrated on their traditional dates. It is possible that Hananiah was the brother of the Nehemiah that is known from the Bible (see, e.g., Neh. 7:2). The letter was written on both sides of the papyrus (customary for letters, as opposed to contracts, which were only written on one side).
The Romans are well known for having built stone-paved roads in order to speed communication and enable the army to move more efficiently. They built an extensive road network that connected the main cities of all of their provinces. This one led from the port of Joppa through the town of Emmaus, a colony for veteran soldiers built by the Emperor Vespasian in 70 CE, to Jerusalem.
Female Figurines from the Late Bronze Age
These three figurines are characteristic of Late Bronze Age molded plaque figurines. All tend to be nude and standing in frontal position. They probably represented the Canaanite goddess Ashtaroth in her role as goddess of love and procreation. Figurines such as these were made in molds and are often found in domestic quarters.
This map shows the 3 political powers in the Mediterranean world on the eve of the Crusades: Catholic Europe (yellow); the Byzantine Empire (orange); and the Arab kingdoms of the Middle East and North Africa (red). The arrows represent the various movements of the First Crusade toward Israel: one through the Rhine; one by ship through Venice and Constantinople; and one by ship from southern Italy through Constantinople. The stars represent the major cities involved: Constantinople, Rome, and Clermont (France).
This map shows the region of Galilee. The circle is around the city of Nazareth, where Jesus grew up. The arrows point to the places that Jesus went during his ministry: toward Tyre and Sidon, on the Phoenician coast, and around the Sea of Galilee.
Pictured here, looking west towards the Mediterranean, are the modern neighborhoods of Gaza city [population of over 515,000], the largest city in the Palestinian Territories. Gaza is historically significant as a nexus of ancient Mediterranean culture and a major hub of seafaring trade throughout the 1st millennia BCE. The city is located along the Gaza Strip, a small parcel of Palestinian territory about 25 miles long and ranging from 3 to 7 miles wide (at various points).
These vessels are typical of those created in the Roman period. Glass bead jewelry is known to have been made as early as 3,000-2,000 BCE, core-formed glass vessels were made beginning around 1,500 BCE, and molded glass vessels are known from the Hellenistic period. The earliest known blown glass dates to the Early Roman period, and seems to have been first discovered in Israel/Palestine.
This view, looking from the ancient city of Gamla in the Golan Heights southwest toward the Sea of Galilee (visible in the background) illustrates just how quickly the high plateau that makes up the Golan Heights drops down to the Sea of Galilee. The deep ravine in the picture is a wadi, or seasonal riverbed.
The Yarmuk River, which is barely visible in the bottom right corner of this picture, marks the southern boundary of the Golan Heights, separating it from the region that is the modern country of Jordan. It flows west out of the Golan Heights and into the Jordan River just south of the Sea of Galilee.
This is a photograph of the synagogue of the ancient city of Tiberias. Several synagogues were built on this site over the centuries; much of the architecture that you see here dates to the 5th-8th centuries CE. The mosaic floor that you will see in other photographs dates to the 4th century CE.
Hammat Tiberias: the synagogue mosaic floor - central panel
This photograph shows the central panel of the mosaic floor in the fourth century synagogue at Hammat Tiberias. The stones running through the middle of it are a later wall that was built in such a way as to destroy the mosaic. At the center of the mosaic floor (the section that the wall runs through) is a zodiac with figures corresponding to the 12 months of the year. At the four corners are figural depictions of the four seasons. The arrow points to the figure in the middle of the zodiac, which is the sun god Helios. In the panel above the zodiac there is a depiction of the Temple in Jerusalem and Temple implements. Underneath the zodiac is a Greek inscription flanked by two lions, honoring the donors of the synagogue.
Hammat Tiberias: the synagogue mosaic floor - central panel close-up
This photograph shows a close-up of the figure at the center of the zodiac that is in the central panel of the mosaic floor in the fourth century synagogue at Hammat Tiberias. This very fine mosaic shows a depiction of the sun god Helios riding his chariot above the sea. His right arm is raised in blessing and in his left arm he holds the orb of the universe, an emblem of his sovereign power.
Hammat Tiberias: the synagogue mosaic floor - top panel
This photograph shows the upper panel of the mosaic floor in the center of the fourth century synagogue at Hammat Tiberias. It is the last panel that a worshipper would see/walk across as he walked toward the standing Torah shrine on the southern wall of the synagogue. In this panel we see the main doors of the Temple in Jerusalem, which may resemble also the ark of the Torah in the synagogue, flanked by two 7-branched menorahs. In the area below each menorah are a lulav (a palm branch bound with myrtle and willow) and an etrog (a citron), both ritual objects important for the festival of Sukkot, as well as a shofar (ram's horn) and an incense shovel.
This map shows both the size of Herod's kingdom at the beginning of his reign (the purple areas that include Judaea, Perea, and Galilee) and the regions that were given to him later by his Roman benefactors, mainly the emperor Augustus (the lighter pink areas). Herod ruled as a vassal king of the Romans from 37-4 BCE.
This aerial photograph, looking east, shows what Herodion now looks like after stones were piled up next to the walls and the towers were knocked down. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, King Herod (37-4 BCE) built this palace on the site where he won a battle in 40 BCE (Ant. 14.360; War 1.265) and recent excavations have found what is most likely his burial place, just as Josephus said (Ant. 17.199; War 1.419, 673): a mausoleum with an ornate coffin on the northern slope of the mound. In the background, the hills of the Judaean Desert descend east toward the Dead Sea, which is visible at the top right.
This aerial photograph, looking straight down on King Herod's (37-4 BCE) palace at Herodium, clearly shows its double circular defense wall and four towers. Three of the semi-circular towers were defensive, while the completely round tower probably served for both defense and as the coolest, breeziest place in the hot summer months. Directly in front of the round tower is a large rectangular garden courtyard surrounded by a colonnade and flanked at both north and south ends by niches whose benches would have provided places to sit. A bathhouse was found at the lower left quadrant of the enclosure and a dining area was found in the lower right. During Herod's lifetime the walls would have stuck up above the ground; at some point after Herod died the mound was covered with stones to give it the appearance that it has today: that of nothing more than a hill, with the palace sunk into it.
This is the skull of homo erectus (“upright man”), the predecessor to the homo sapien. The skull is now held at the University of Michigan, Museum of Natural Sciences. Evidence for homo erectus has been found in Israel at various sites, in particular at Tel Ubeidiya, south of the Sea of Galilee.
This image shows a reconstruction of homo erectus (“upright man”). Behind homo erectus is a map of migration routes— beginning in Africa, near the origins of the Nile in Kenya and Uganda, and extending north, along the Syrian-African Rift, through Israel (Ubeidiya) and into Europe. The rift caused the collection of fresh water, thus supporting human habitation. The settlement at Ubeidiya, just south of the Sea of Galilee, is one of our earliest windows into the nascent stages of human development.
This photograph shows the Horns of Hattin (or Hill of Hattin), which is the large, flat hilltop in the top center of the photograph. It is an extinct volcano that, from the ground, looks like two horns. Recent archaeological research has revealed a Roman village. We know from historical sources that the Crusaders were defeated by Saladin here on July 4, 1187 CE. In the background are the hills of eastern Galilee; just above are the city of Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee.
In this view from the hill of Hattin, looking NE, the cliffs of Mt. Arbel and the Sea of Galilee are in the background. The valley to the left of Arbel is the valley that the army of Saladin climbed from Tiberias to the plateau underneath Hattin where the battle took place. On Arbel we see the modern moshav of Arbel; in the plateau between Arbel and Hattin is Moshav Kfar Zeitim.
This map shows the Rhodes Armistice Line, which delineated Israel from Transjordan after the 1948-1949 War. The armistice line provided Israel with the area that is shaded blue; the West Bank and Gaza were given to Jordan and Egypt, respectively, which were subsequently captured during the 1967 Six-Day War and occupied by the Israeli military to the present day.
Izz ad din Al-Qassam was a controversial Muslim religious activist in the 1920–30s. He opposed foreign influence on Arab lands and led resistance movements in multiple countries against the French, Italians, British, and Zionists. After immigrating to Palestine, he became popular among lower classes and disenfranchised Arab tenant farmers, some of whom moved to Haifa after their farms were sold to Jews. His radical political views brought him into conflict with other secular Arab leaders. Al-Qassam organized hundreds of men into small cell groups to carry out violent acts. His dramatic martyr-style death inspired masses of Arabs towards violent resistance, which erupted in the 1936–39 Arab Revolt. Modern groups such as Hamas, derive their ideology from the vision of Al-Qassam.
This painting, called Napoleon At The Pesthouse of Jaffa, was painted by Antoine-Jean Gros in 1804. It is a fantastical representation of Napoleon meeting lepers when he arrived at Jaffa after being beat in battle by Jazzar Pasha.
The city of Jericho sits in the Jordan River Valley, in the Judaean Desert. It has been continuously inhabited since at least 9,000 BCE. Though the Jordan River is nearby (ca. 5 miles away), the city of Jericho gets its water from a prolific local spring. In the foreground is the Hasmonaean fortress of Doq. In the background, in the upper right of the photo, is the northern edge of the Dead Sea.
This aerial photograph shows the archaeological remains of Herod's palace at Jericho, which is located in the Judaean Desert, on the bank of Wadi Qelt, near the northern tip of the dead Sea. He likely chose it because it is in the Judaean Desert, so is warm in the winter time, and because the Hasmonaean kings had already built palaces and an infrastructure of water channels for bath houses and spas. Herod constructed a royal villa complete with royal gardens and an Olympic-sized swimming pool. This photograph shows only the main building of the palace complex. On the left is a reception hall that was paved with marble and colored stone (a recent discovery in this period). Next to it is an open courtyard with columns on 3 sides and an apse at the back. Along the back of the building on the right side are five rooms that belonged to an elaborate bath that had been constructed in the best Roman style.
This photograph shows the earliest fortification structure thus far discovered anywhere in the world. It is a circular tower that was probably built around 7,000 BCE and was connected to a massive stone wall. The position of the tower would have given those on top of it a commanding view of the broad Jordan River Valley. The top of the tower was accessed by 22 steps that lead from the doorway, visible at the bottom, to the place on top of the tower that is covered by the modern grate (also visible).
Jerualem: Christian Quarter and Dome of the Rock
This close-up aerial photo of the Old City of Jerusalem depicts the complex of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (at the bottom left, with the two grey domes). In the middle background is the Temple Mount and the golden dome of the Dome of the Rock. The Mount of Olives and the Arab village of Et Tur (the smaller of the two towers on the hilltop) is in the distance. The large dome within the complex of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the Anastasis ('raising up'), and underneath it is the traditional location of Jesus' tomb. The smaller dome is over the main altar in the church's basilica and the place that many Christians believed was the 'navel of the earth'. The long rectangular roofed structure beyond them that looks a bit like the peaked roof a barn or a warehouse is the Chapel of St. Helena. To the right of the Anastasis Dome is a square, bulky tower from the period of the Crusades; to its right is the thin and tall minaret tower of the Mosque of Omar; just behind it is the whitish tall, square and pointed bell tower of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, a relatively new church build by the German Kaiser in 1893.
This map shows the demographics of modern Jerusalem by color. The total population is over 800,000 with about 65% Jewish (blue) and 32% Arab (yellow). Pictured also are two important lines: (1) the red-dotted line marks the municipal boundary of the 1949 Rhodes Armistice Agreement, demarcating the Israeli controlled area from 1949-1967; (2) the solid black line encompasses an enlarged municipal boundary, showing the area under Israeli control since the 1967 Six-Day War, in which Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza, and the Golan. Importantly, the Old City and the Temple Mount are in the Israeli occupied territory east of the 1949 red-dotted line. Jerusalem is at the center of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as both groups consider it their capital.
This map represents the common scholarly opinion about what the layout of Jerusalem looked like after the Second Temple period. The Jewish Temple has been destroyed and, as many scholars believe, a new temple to the Roman god Jupiter has been erected in its place on the temple platform. It also shows the proposed site for the camp of the Tenth Roman Legion (in the southwest corner of the city). The marks on the map represent the views of Prof. Eliav regarding the eastern border of the city (the black line) and the city center (the yellow box).
This plan shows what Jerusalem looked like in the Byzantine period. The Temple stood in ruins, as did the short-lived Temple of Jupiter that some scholars believe was erected in its place. Multiple churches were built during and after the reign of the Emperor Constantine (306-337 CE), the largest and most notable being the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (just to the left of the center) and the Nea Church (at the bottom). There were two cardos (main streets) that ran through the city from north to south, the eastern (left-most) of which was only discovered in 2006.
This map of Jerusalem has a circle around the location of the modern Damascus Gate, one of the northern gates into the Old City of Jerusalem. The modern gate, which was built during the Ottoman period, sits atop a Roman gate that was built in the time of Hadrian (117-138 CE). We also know that this was the location of the gate from the Madaba map, a map that was found in the mosaic floor of a Byzantine church.
This plan shows what Jerusalem looked like after the Roman emperor Hadrian (117-138 CE) ordered the establishment of a colony named Aelia Capitolina in 130-132 CE. Some scholars believe that a temple to Jupiter was erected on the site where the Jewish temple had been, which is what this map shows. The camp of the Tenth Roman Legion occupied the southwestern corner of the city.
Jerusalem in the Second Temple period: Map
This plan shows what Jerusalem looked like in the late Second Temple period, prior to the Jewish revolt of 66-70 CE. The Jewish Temple occupied the Temple Mount and the upper-classes lived in the Upper City (known today as Mt. Zion), across the Tyropoeon Valley from the Temple Mount, near Herod's Palace. The city walls encompassed all that had been the City of David, as well as most of what is the modern Old City.
Jerusalem in the time of the First Crusade: Map
This map of Jerusalem during time of the Crusades highlights the 3 religious foci in the city: the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (the yellow circle) and the two additional crusader structures that were erected on Temple Mount: the crusaders converted the Dome of the Rock into the Templum Domini and the Al Aqsa Mosque into the Templum Salmonis.
Jerusalem: "Place of the Trumpeting" inscription
This stone, with an inscription in Hebrew that reads, 'To the place of trumpeting to an(nounce)…,' was found in excavations at the base of the southwest corner of the Temple Mount (where many things were found that had been thrown off of the Temple Mount by Roman soldiers that destroyed it in 70 CE). It likely originally marked the spot (or gave directions to the spot) where a priest would have blown the trumpet that announced the beginning and end of the Sabbath.
This bronze coin was minted in 131 CE and commemorates the rededication of Jerusalem as Aelia Capitolina (the inscription is in Latin and reads 'COL[onia] AEL[ia] KAP[itolina]'). The picture in the middle of the coin is the façade of the temple to the Capitoline Triad that Hadrian had erected on the Temple Mount (according to some scholars), with the seated figure of Jupiter inside flanked by the goddesses Juno and Minerva. Many have argued that the building of the Temple of Jupiter was a catalyst for the Bar Kokhba Revolt (131-135 CE).
This aerial photograph of Jerusalem, looking north, shows the hilly character of the area. The Old City, including the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, can be seen in the center of the picture, and the skyscrapers of the new city are in the background. The shadow to the right of the Temple Mount covers the western slope of the Kidron Valley (biblical Valley of Jehoshaphat). The Hinnom Valley runs perpendicular, then curves around the southwestern edge of the Old City. The shadow to the left of the Temple Mount is the Tyropoean Valley ("Valley of the Cheesemakers"). The City of David sits between these two shadows, below the southern wall of the Temple Mount. At the top right of the photo you can see the water tower of the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus.
This aerial view towards Jerusalem from the east shows just how arid the Central Hill becomes as one passes the watershed line from west to east into the rain shadow on its east side. This is the beginning of the Judaean Desert.
In this photograph of the Old City of Jerusalem after a winter snow, the Temple Mount and Dome of the Rock are visible in the distance (to the east), as is the Mount of Olives in the background. The grey dome at the bottom of the photograph is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
This photograph of the Old City of Jerusalem shows the Temple Mount and Dome of the Rock in the background and the Western Wall Plaza in the center of the picture. The Western Wall (also called the Wailing Wall) is the western side of the Temple Mount. Because the Temple Mount complex is sacred to Muslims, and religious Jews do not want to inadvertently walk on the space where the (Jewish) Holy of Holies was located in the Second Temple period, the Western Wall Plaza became Judaism's most holy site and place of prayer.
In this aerial view of the Old City of Jerusalem, which is looking east toward the Mount of Olives and Mount Scopus and the Judaean Desert beyond them, the outline of the Old City walls is clearly visible, as is the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock (in the center of the photo). The Tyropoeon Valley, which runs through the middle of the Old City, is visible as a shadow that runs between the Temple Mount and Mt. Zion at the bottom of the photograph.
This aerial photograph shows the City of David and the Temple Mount above it. Notice the ridge upon which the City of David was built (to the right of the road running from the upper center to the bottom of the photograph). The place of the Temple Mount was outside of the City of David until the time of Solomon. As the highest point in the area it became the location for David's 'high place' altar and Solomon's temple.
This aerial photograph of Jerusalem, looking north, shows the hilly character of the area. The Old City, including the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, can be seen in the center of the picture, and the skyscrapers of the New City are in the background. In the middle of the picture a spur of a hill descends from the Old City toward the intersection of the shadows that are created by the hill on which the Old City sits. The Jehoshaphat Valley sits in the shadow that curves around the Old City to the right, while the Hinnom Valley curves around to the left side of the Old City (the valley itself is not clearly visible because of the other hill in the foreground). These two valleys intersect at the bottom of the spurand become the Kidron Valley, which then runs south all the way to the Dead Sea. The City of David sits on the spur itself, between the Jehoshaphat and Hinnom valleys and below the Old City. To the right of the Jehoshaphat Valley is the Mount of Olives with village of Siloam on its slopes. At the top right of the photo you can see the water tower of the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus.
In this photograph of the Old City of Jerusalem after a winter snow, the Temple Mount and Dome of the Rock are visible in the distance (to the east), as is the Mount of Olives in the background and the hills of the Judaean desert to the far right. The grey dome at the bottom of the photograph is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
In the background of this aerial photograph of the Old City of Jerusalem we see the hills of the Judaean desert, as well as Transjordan in the distance. In the near distance, just beyond the city, is the Mount of Olives and Mt. Scopus. In the center of the photograph is the current Old City with its Ottoman walls. The yellow square designates the Christian Quarter with the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at its center (that is what the arrow is pointing to). The Red oval is around the Temple Mount complex, at the center of which is the Dome of the Rock.
The raking light in this aerial view of the Old City of Jerusalem, looking east toward the Judaean Desert, clearly shows the Old City walls, which were built according to the orders of Suleiman the Magnificent in the first half of the 16th century CE. In the distance is the Judaean Desert. Beyond the walls of the Old City, is the Mount of Olives and its Jewish cemetery (to the right of the tower on the ridge, flowing down the hillside toward the southeastern corner of the Temple Mount). The Hinnom Valley is just out of sight at the bottom of the picture. Perhaps most interesting in this picture is the Tyropoeon Valley, which can be seen in the shadow that runs north/south (left/right in the picture) through the middle of the Old City, ending on this side of the Temple Mount.
Jerusalem: area and population through the ages
This slide, fairly self-explanatory, shows the size and population of Jerusalem between 1,000 BCE and 565 CE. One can see the gradual rise in the city's population and geographical scope, as well as the topographical trajectory of its development: First from the southeast corner (next to the water), then up the slope to the north, then to the hills to the west, and from there again to the north.
Currency was issued by Jews during the Bar Kokhba Revolt, the Second Jewish War with Rome (132–135 CE). In the ancient world, minting your own money was a statement of political autonomy. It symbolized open rebellion if one group was subordinate to another. Many of the Bar Kokhba coins were also “overstruck,” which means that original Roman coins were effaced, and re-struck with Jewish symbols. This was another act of rebellion. Roman deities and kings were filed off and replaced with the Temple or the Ark of the Covenant. In the coin pictured here, two trumpets are surrounded by the inscription “For the Freedom of Jerusalem.” A harp appears on the opposite side, and reads “Year Two of the Freedom of Israel.” The coin was probably struck in 134 CE, two years after the beginning of the revolt.